Women a step closer to combat role

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Women in the army will be only one step away from direct
fighting roles by Christmas, after the Federal Government revoked a
ban on joining combat support units.

Assistant Defence Minister De-Anne Kelly announced the policy
shift today, which will allow women to join the infantry, armoured
and artillery units, which support frontline troops.

But the ban on women joining direct combat units continues.

The decision,mooted almost a fortnight ago, is believed to have
been triggered by recruitment shortfalls across the forces.

"Suitably qualified women can apply to be posted to armoured and
artillery units as well as infantry battalions in support roles in
headquarters and administrative units," Mrs Kelly said in a
statement.

Women make up only 13 per cent of the 52,000-member defence
force.

Under the new policy, women will be eligible for clerical,
medical, logistics, signals and transport duties.

The army estimates up to 50 women will be in these new roles by
December.

Labor defence spokesman Robert McClelland said posting women to
front-line units could help alleviate skills shortages.

The continued ban on women in combat also was appropriate, he
said.

"We believe that government's made the right call, the right
balance, in terms of having women in frontline units but not in
roles where they could confront the situation of hand-to-hand
combat,'' Mr McClelland said.

"It's always dangerous to generalise but I think, by and large,
males are going to have the physical superiority in an armed combat
situation - there'll obviously be exceptions to that.''

Australians may find it unacceptable for women to be killed
while serving in military hand-to-hand combat roles, Mr McClelland
said.

"While any . . . military casualty is a cause for concern, I
think the community generally would be extremely distressed to see
women casualties in that situation where we as a society have put
them in the hand-to-hand combat role,'' he said.